Time is nearing for the close of accepting entries for The Phidian Art Club's 22nd Annual Literary Contest.
The members work hard to find great judges and are always looking for new and exciting local writers to enter the contest. Books on First has been tapped for a number of years to sponsor Short Fiction, and does so with enthusiasm. Winners (first, second and third) receive a small monetary prize presented at a luncheon. The perk for the first prize winning entry has been (and I hope still is) an in-depth analysis/review by the judge on why the piece was clearly above the rest. I have found that more invaluable than the $$. In some years, it's so difficult to choose, there are honorable mentions. Let's keep that up! Entry requirements are available at Books on First and online.
Goodness knows where the Awards Luncheon in May will be held now that Colonial Rose in Grand Detour has closed. The Phidians might see if Mark Framke will be up and running at the Rock River Country Club by that time. We just heard he has signed on executive chef position there, but only the 19th Hole will be immediately open. We look forward to sampling some of Mark's great creative culinary ideas when the dining room opens. Hey, Mark, a great piece of art for the Club'sdining room would be that wonderful piece of you in the kitchen by your lovely wife Lisa's daughter Sydni Reuben, a fantastic painter (whose website I cannot find, but click here for some work she had done while at Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design). It would showcase both the chef and the artist.
08 March 2010
04 March 2010
Many Hands (and Minds) Lessen the Burden
Tonight is the night to discuss women's reproductive health. First, I heard on PRI's "The World" (on NPR) about a study in Afghanistan on how birth control would help women who have astronomically high probability of death through pregnancy (1 out of 7, I think I heard) and how mullahs are helping to spread the word. The Prophet was talking about timing of births being better for healthy babies, but what the he, 2 birds with 1 stone and all that. Meanwhile, you can help here at home, by viewing this video online, and passing it on if you are inclined. Women's reproductive rights is not just about abortion. It's also about the the quality of life for woman and child. I am not anti-life; I am pro-quality of life for everyone.
25 February 2010
The first Second Saturday
From Sauk Valley News, 24 February 2010
Art lovers unite: Second Saturdays prepares to launch collaboration of art, music, theater
By ILENE HALUSKA ihaluska@svnmail.com
815-284-2224, ext. 526
DIXON – A new event will begin in a month in Dixon to "enliven the downtown and get people out walking to see what's going on in their cultural community."
"Second Saturdays Art Happenings" will showcase the town's art, music and theater offerings as visitors bop from venue to venue, organizers say.
The event will launch next month, on March 13, with activities at five downtown venues, including a hair salon and a church.
"The idea is to get people to get out and walk the streets and check out the galleries" – like a pub crawl, said artist Lisa Higby LeFevre, one of the event's organizers and owner of Distinctive Gardens.
"Traditionally, it's when all of the galleries will be open at the same time, usually once a month, and do different things on that particular night," Higby LeFevre said.
Second Saturdays is designed to get people interested in what's going on with the community's artists and galleries. People who usually are interested only in music can get a taste of the visual arts, and vice versa.
It will increase community pride, and make Dixon a more attractive place to live, organizers say.
Nontraditional venues are part of the attraction. Episcopal Church of St. Luke, for example, will present organ music and will offer its first art exhibit, paintings by the late artist Gordon Utley.
"It's exciting to have a town with an active base of artists," LeFevre said. "There's a tremendous wealth of quality art."
LeFevre suggested an art hop a few years ago, but the arts community wasn't ready for it, she said.
The idea resurfaced when The Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe and The Next Picture Show both had openings the evening of Nov. 6, and she and local photographer Rick Munson noticed how many people bounced back and forth between the two galleries. They got to talking on Facebook, talked with other artists, and the idea caught on, she said.
Each Second Saturday will feature different venues and events, and The Next Picture Show plans to participate in three of them, organizers say.
Art lovers unite: Second Saturdays prepares to launch collaboration of art, music, theater
By ILENE HALUSKA ihaluska@svnmail.com
815-284-2224, ext. 526
Local artist Lisa Higby LeFevre talks about "Second Saturdays Art Happenings," a new art and music event that kicks off March 13 at several businesses in downtown Dixon. The monthly collaboration will showcase the town's art, music and theater offerings as visitors trek from venue to venue, organizers say. (Alex T. Paschal/apaschal@svnmail.com)
DIXON – A new event will begin in a month in Dixon to "enliven the downtown and get people out walking to see what's going on in their cultural community."
"Second Saturdays Art Happenings" will showcase the town's art, music and theater offerings as visitors bop from venue to venue, organizers say.
The event will launch next month, on March 13, with activities at five downtown venues, including a hair salon and a church.
"The idea is to get people to get out and walk the streets and check out the galleries" – like a pub crawl, said artist Lisa Higby LeFevre, one of the event's organizers and owner of Distinctive Gardens.
"Traditionally, it's when all of the galleries will be open at the same time, usually once a month, and do different things on that particular night," Higby LeFevre said.
Second Saturdays is designed to get people interested in what's going on with the community's artists and galleries. People who usually are interested only in music can get a taste of the visual arts, and vice versa.
It will increase community pride, and make Dixon a more attractive place to live, organizers say.
Nontraditional venues are part of the attraction. Episcopal Church of St. Luke, for example, will present organ music and will offer its first art exhibit, paintings by the late artist Gordon Utley.
"It's exciting to have a town with an active base of artists," LeFevre said. "There's a tremendous wealth of quality art."
LeFevre suggested an art hop a few years ago, but the arts community wasn't ready for it, she said.
The idea resurfaced when The Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe and The Next Picture Show both had openings the evening of Nov. 6, and she and local photographer Rick Munson noticed how many people bounced back and forth between the two galleries. They got to talking on Facebook, talked with other artists, and the idea caught on, she said.
Each Second Saturday will feature different venues and events, and The Next Picture Show plans to participate in three of them, organizers say.
The first Second Saturday
The first Second Saturday will be held in downtown Dixon from 6 to 8 p.m. March 13.
■ The art trek begins at Crystal Cork Wine Shoppe, 219 W. First St., which will offer its quarterly show, "Dissolution," which is photography by Hope Greene; and an artist's reception for the pastels "Atmosphere" and "Time Passages," by Lisa Higby LeFevre.
■ Acrylic artist John DeLong will showcase his paintings and put on a demonstration at his business, JSalon, 208 W. First St.
■ The next stop is Trein's Jewelry, 201 W. First St., which will feature Czechoslovakian art glass and a guest artist to be announced.
■ Books on First, 202 W. First St., will present music by Maddies Farm from 7 to 9 p.m. Art exhibits are a regular feature at the coffee shop and bookstore.
■ The hop ends at Episcopal Church of St. Luke, 221 W. Third St., where the late Gordon Utley's paintings will be displayed and organ music will be performed.
To learn more
The next art walk is April 10. Groups and artists interested in participating in Second Saturdays can contact Lisa Higby LeFevre, lhlefevre@comcast.net or 815-285-0014, or Theresa Sholders, theresa@essex1.com. or 815-285-3496.
More information also is available at www.Second-Saturdays.com online.
17 February 2010
How (Possibly) Duane Reade Got Its Name
With today's announcement that Walgreen's has agreed to purchase the iconic NYC drug store Duane Reade, I get to walk down memory lane.
During the summer of 1979, I worked for the General Services Administration at Six World Trade Center (yes, part of the Twin Towers complex). Staying with my grandmother at her apartment on Hester Street in Chinatown/Little Italy, I would walk to work in the mornings as I figured that walking all the way down to WTC is almost the same as walking to Canal Street to catch a train and then, walking from Court Street or another station near the WTC, with the added benefit of saving money, getting exercise and living the City.
There are many, many Duane Reade drug store branch locations in NYC. The one I frequented that summer was right on my way to and from my summer job. One day, I looked up and noticed that I was crossing Duane Street. I then passed a very large Duane Reade store which took up the whole block* and thought, how cool, there's a Duane Reade at the corner of Duane Street. And, then, I had to cross another street and its name was Reade Street. Eureka!
Looking at a map of Lower Manhattan in my research for this posting, I see that Duane and Reade Streets are not perfectly parallel, but run very close to each other for several blocks in a northeasterly way. I would say the two streets are only a block apart, but this would be a Lower Manhattan "block," versus the insistent Illinoisan who tells me that *there are 8 blocks to a mile and thus, a true block =1/8 of a mile and this is a universal measure. Being a New Yorker, I knew right away from the first time he expounded on it, that this measure is not universal. On the other hand, I will concede that for the length at which Duane and Reade Streets run nearly parallel, they are not full blocks apart, which means that it is imaginable that there are more than one Duane Reade drug store locations between Chinatown and the world Trade Center. Of course, since I am talking about 1979, it is also likely that as we write & read in 2010, there are none between Duane and Reade Streets.
There are many, many Duane Reade drug store branch locations in NYC. The one I frequented that summer was right on my way to and from my summer job. One day, I looked up and noticed that I was crossing Duane Street. I then passed a very large Duane Reade store which took up the whole block* and thought, how cool, there's a Duane Reade at the corner of Duane Street. And, then, I had to cross another street and its name was Reade Street. Eureka!
Looking at a map of Lower Manhattan in my research for this posting, I see that Duane and Reade Streets are not perfectly parallel, but run very close to each other for several blocks in a northeasterly way. I would say the two streets are only a block apart, but this would be a Lower Manhattan "block," versus the insistent Illinoisan who tells me that *there are 8 blocks to a mile and thus, a true block =1/8 of a mile and this is a universal measure. Being a New Yorker, I knew right away from the first time he expounded on it, that this measure is not universal. On the other hand, I will concede that for the length at which Duane and Reade Streets run nearly parallel, they are not full blocks apart, which means that it is imaginable that there are more than one Duane Reade drug store locations between Chinatown and the world Trade Center. Of course, since I am talking about 1979, it is also likely that as we write & read in 2010, there are none between Duane and Reade Streets.
12 February 2010
Is Reading No Longer an "American" Pastime?
In the same week that I participated in a webinar (now that's a newly created word, eh?) about the demographics of usage of electronic devices in which a poll question was posed: What device do you use most for your entertainment? and books or even electronic books like Kindle or Nook were not included as a choice of response, I am able to bring you the following Wall Street Journal article.11 February 2010
Electronics -- "Have they freed us for more quality moments, or simply made us busier?"
* The Wall Street Journal * BOOKSHELF * FEBRUARY 8, 2010, 6:32 P.M. ET
From Wisdom to Wi-Fi
A library is no longer a mere home for books. It is a wired-up information center.
By CHRISTINE ROSEN
There are
many unsung heroes of ordinary life—nurses, trash collectors, accountants—whose job it is to take care of things that the rest of us take for granted. So too the librarian, that iconic figure who long presided over a sanctuary of books and guided readers, young and old, to the treasures of a vast print culture. But the profession has undergone a dramatic transformation of late because libraries themselves are not what they used to be. Today they have less to do with books per se than with computers, films, community events and children's activities. They are, above all, public portals to the world of "information," especially the online version. In "This Book Is Overdue!," Marilyn Johnson, a former staff writer for Life magazine, takes us on a tour of the modern library and introduces us to the men and women who call it their professional home.
From Wisdom to Wi-Fi
A library is no longer a mere home for books. It is a wired-up information center.
By CHRISTINE ROSEN
There are
many unsung heroes of ordinary life—nurses, trash collectors, accountants—whose job it is to take care of things that the rest of us take for granted. So too the librarian, that iconic figure who long presided over a sanctuary of books and guided readers, young and old, to the treasures of a vast print culture. But the profession has undergone a dramatic transformation of late because libraries themselves are not what they used to be. Today they have less to do with books per se than with computers, films, community events and children's activities. They are, above all, public portals to the world of "information," especially the online version. In "This Book Is Overdue!," Marilyn Johnson, a former staff writer for Life magazine, takes us on a tour of the modern library and introduces us to the men and women who call it their professional home.09 February 2010
Browsing and the BBC World Service
When I am home on the weekends, "home" being Lee County, Illinois, I am able to fall asleep and wake up several times during the night to the BBC World Service offered on WNIJ, our local NPR station out of Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. This begins at midnight, or "Six o'clock, GMT." That's actually how I knew that it was 2010, Auld Lang Syne time, by the BBC already telling me it was 6am.
I had wanted to share a story about "middle age writers," those writing and being published at an older age, which was defined as age 50, but I am unable to find that radio item, the BBC websites being handled differently from www.npr.org. I recall a bit of "cheating," since they spoke quite a bit with someone who is only 49, having published a book at age 48 (sorry, I was not fully awake to figure out which author was speaking). It was an interesting discussion on whether being published is as important as being read, and with electronic books, self-publishing services and the internet, perhaps writers over the age of 50 should look beyond the traditional publishing paths. I don't quite know why the piece was produced, focusing on "older beginner" writers.
Browsing the BBC website, I did find something rather interesting about Vietnamese coffee, which I share with you now. Warning: it appears that programmes become "available for listening" and then, that availability expires. There is nothing wrong with that if they are indeed selling content (I have yet to write that promised post on "content") as that's the producer's prerogative. I am simply saying that if you are reading this a year or even a few months from now, you may be out of luck.
"Browsing" is generally not in the province of the world wide web, despite that word being used for what we all do on the internet. "Browsing" involves serendipity, curiosity and satisfaction of that curiosity, handling in order to consider whether this item is the right fit for the browsing person's life. However, I will admit this once, that I really had a browsing experience online.
I had wanted to share a story about "middle age writers," those writing and being published at an older age, which was defined as age 50, but I am unable to find that radio item, the BBC websites being handled differently from www.npr.org. I recall a bit of "cheating," since they spoke quite a bit with someone who is only 49, having published a book at age 48 (sorry, I was not fully awake to figure out which author was speaking). It was an interesting discussion on whether being published is as important as being read, and with electronic books, self-publishing services and the internet, perhaps writers over the age of 50 should look beyond the traditional publishing paths. I don't quite know why the piece was produced, focusing on "older beginner" writers.
Browsing the BBC website, I did find something rather interesting about Vietnamese coffee, which I share with you now. Warning: it appears that programmes become "available for listening" and then, that availability expires. There is nothing wrong with that if they are indeed selling content (I have yet to write that promised post on "content") as that's the producer's prerogative. I am simply saying that if you are reading this a year or even a few months from now, you may be out of luck.
"Browsing" is generally not in the province of the world wide web, despite that word being used for what we all do on the internet. "Browsing" involves serendipity, curiosity and satisfaction of that curiosity, handling in order to consider whether this item is the right fit for the browsing person's life. However, I will admit this once, that I really had a browsing experience online.
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